Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park: A Landscape To Remember

Sensory overload – that’s how I would describe Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park! This wild and natural landscape is a complete assault on the senses. The feeling of awe seeing the famous Old Faithful Geyser shout out to the heavens, and the up close and personal proximity with all forms of wildlife – including wolves and bears – left me breathless. It’s the kind of breathless that leaves your heart pumping with a rush of adrenaline, making you feel truly alive. It’s a site that is not to be missed in your lifetime on this planet.

Even if you aren’t an outdoorsy type of person, you’ll want to make the effort to visit the stunning landscape of Yellowstone. Wyoming is hiding some of the most incredible and breathtaking sites this country has to offer.

Go see first-hand the gorgeous natural marvels

A photo can only do so much justice in capturing the wonder and sheer impossibility of something as beautiful as the Grand Prismatic Spring simply existing. The vibrant blues, greens, and oranges are like some fantasy kaleidoscope that will leave you rubbing your eyes in disbelief. I’ve never seen anything like it in my entire life – and it just is. What an incredible display of the artistic diversity of the natural world. If seeing this doesn’t cause you to sit and ponder your own purpose on this planet, your own anatomical impossibility as a human being, I’m not sure what will – and this is just one of the many sites to see at Yellowstone.

If an artistic display wasn’t enough to steal the breath from your lungs, go stand at the edge of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The mammoth waterfall – the Lower Falls – is a rush of crisp, clean water that echoes its roaring power off the surrounding canyon to the pool 308 feet below. It’s a reminder how small, and insignificant Mother Nature can make us if she so chooses. It’s truly awesome – and not in the ‘totally rad’ 80s sense – but the god-fearing, biblical kind.

Come face-to-face with your own mortality

Maybe cliff walking doesn’t get your heart pumping (I suppose that could happen if you’re an adrenaline junkie). That’s okay! Yellowstone has plenty of other ways to remind you of how fragile your tiny, human life is in the grand scheme of things. One word: bears. And, it’s no joking matter. You aren’t going to find Yogi and BooBoo in Yellowstone. You’re going to get the real deal 600-lb grizzly, so while I recommend whole-heartedly you go get more than just a glimpse of these magnificent creatures, do so with your own safety. You want to be able to remember and recount your experience in Wyoming. Trust me.

On top of observing black bears and grizzlies in their natural environment, there are many other majestic creatures roaming the grounds of Yellowstone. You always hear stories of just how large Moose and Bison are, but nothing really prepares you for just how big they actually are when you see them with your own eyes. They give off this aura of sheer power and muscle. They left me questioning: how could man have possibly dominated such commanding power and stature? It seems completely improbable and saddening all at the same time.

Apparently, this experience turned me into somewhat of a Romantic poet, with the natural marvels, I found here getting under my skin and into my soul. Add to that, my heart-stopping moments with the packs of wild horses running free, wind moving so deftly and fiercely through their flowing manes, you’ll find the natural world here will do the same to you. I don’t know whether to laugh at myself in absurdity, be extremely grateful for this transformation or maybe a little bit of both.

One thing is for certain, I’m not done exploring

Consequently, my trip to Yellowstone inspired me to search out other ways to explore this amazing country we live in, and I thought what better way to do so than by way of famous routes of the past. My first choice? To retrace the steps of our pioneer ancestors on the Oregon Trail. It’s possible it can’t get any more Romantic than that – maybe perhaps if I died from dysentery or had to ford the river, but I digress.

This particular route has a stop off point to camp in Yellowstone, and continues all the way to the east coast, with Niagara Falls and Martha’s Vineyard also on the itinerary. It’s full of some of America’s most iconic points, and what I love best about the idea is that there is sure to be other discoveries along the way, hiding in one of the many National Parks (celebrating 100 years this year!) or one those unassuming (film-worthy) towns along the way.

Of all places in the world, Wyoming brought from slumber parts of me I hadn’t realized were dormant. I left feeling more connected to this beautiful earth and ready to share that with others than I ever have before. If Wyoming isn’t on your bucket list yet, write it down now. Do it! There’s so much life waiting for you out there!